How many times have you said, “I'll start my diet on Monday?” Come on, admit it. Everyone knows that Monday is National “Start Your Diet Day”.
You make the declaration Friday, as you are heading out to happy hour with friends. You eat freely over the weekend, binging on your favorite junk foods, because Monday is when it begins.
Then Monday comes.
You oversleep and rush off to work without eating breakfast or bringing a healthy lunch with you. You are starving when…
The coffee and donut cart rolls past your cubicle (do those really exist?) and the temptation is just too much to resist.
You tell yourself, “I'll go to the grocery store on the way home and only buy healthy food,” then convince yourself that Tuesday will be the day. The day you start.
One more day is all you will need, then you will be ready.
Riding the blood sugar roller coaster from the donut and large mocha you had for breakfast, your favorite burger joint is calling your name for lunch.
Dinner though, dinner is going to be a salad.
With each indiscretion you promise yourself that you will start tomorrow. You get excited about how healthy you are going to be and the weight you are going to lose.
Starting tomorrow.
The trouble is tomorrow comes and your kid is sick, you run out of gas on your way to the grocery store, your wallet is stolen, you get into a fight with your spouse, you know, life happens.
And Tuesday just isn't your day. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday aren't your day either.
Then you read that 42% of Monday dieters fail on Tuesday and pat yourself on the back. Close call.
Here's the thing though…the “I'll start ________ on Monday, or any arbitrary point in time, is really meaningless. What we are really saying I can't commit to making change right now.
And therein lies the problem.
With each delay we become more apathetic. What we dream of seems further and further from our reach. We lose our confidence. We get stuck.
Circumstances will never be perfect. There will always be stress. We will never be completely ready.
It doesn't matter if it is eating healthier, exercising, investing or starting a business. The only way to create change in our life is by taking action.
Start now. Start today. Stop the excuses.
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. ~Dale Carnegie
